Weekend Box Office Feb. 2-4, 2018

SALT LAKE CITY (KUTV) - With the NFL’s Super Bowl stealing the bulk of the country’s attention, it was a somewhat quiet weekend at the movie theaters.

“Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle” returned to the top of the charts with weekend earnings estimated to be at $11 million. The film has made a remarkable $352 million in America alone. I was critical of many aspects of the movie, but ultimately it was a fun ride. Clearly audiences are looking for a way to escape the day-to-day politics that have taken over every facet of our lives.

“Maze Runner: The Death Cure” fell 57 percent in its second weekend with $10.2 million and now has a domestic total of nearly $40 million. However, the dystopian drama continues to draw an international audience. Going into the weekend the film had already earned $100 million abroad. I suspect, once all the totals are reported, that the film will be sitting at or above $150 million worldwide against a budget of $62 million. The domestic totals might be a little disheartening, but Fox will turn a profit, something the Divergent franchise couldn’t say about the final film in itstrilogy.

“Winchester,” the only new film opening in wide release, scared up $9.25 million. The film stars Helen Mirren as Sarah Winchester, the heiress to the Winchester Repeating Arms fortune. Believing that she is haunted by the ghosts of those killed by Winchester rifles, Sarah transforms her home to be a place to hold the restless spirits. But are the specters real, or is it all in her head? A CinemaScore of “B-“ suggests that audiences are lukewarm on the film, which is more positive than I was. Not terrible. Not very interesting either.

“The Greatest Showman” continued its remarkable run dropping only 18 percent for a weekend total of $7.8 million. I still have my fingers crossed that the success of the movie will eventually lead to a lavish stage musical. The film will finish with a worldwide total of more than $300 million.

In fifth place for the week is “Hostiles” with $5.5 million. Scott Cooper’s latest film, a western featuring Christian Bale, does challenge its audiences, but it offers a wonderful message of reconciliation that needs to be heard.

Oscar favorite “The Shape of Water” expanded on to an additional 490 screens and finished the weekend with $4.2 million. Worldwide the film has earned $60 million against a budget just below $20 million. It is amazing what director Guillermo del Toro was able to do with limited funding.